The Cafe Wall Illusion

The cafe wall illusion is an optical illusion that was recorded in 1973 by Richard Gregory. Steve Simpson, a member of Gregory’s staff, was looking at the tiles on the wall of a cafe near the bottom of St Michael’s Hill, Bristol.

He noticed that the parallel straight horizontal lines appeared to be bent.

This optical illusion is formed by alternating light and dark tiles in staggered rows. In order for the illusion to work each tile must be surrounded by a layer of color that falls between the white and black colors.

Click here to see an animated version of The Cafe Wall Illusion.